Basa vs Sirene
Basa
Facts
- Milk
- Cow
- Texture
- Soft
- Type
- Fresh
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Croatia
Basa is a soft white cheese from Croatia, and people eat it fresh as a spread. It is made mainly from cow's milk that is heated, cooled, and set with sour milk rather than with rennet. The curd is drained until it is thick enough to spoon or to spread on bread. Salt is part of the mix, and there is no rind and no long aging. The cheese stays mild, moist, and close to fresh dairy.
Sirene
Facts
- Texture
- Semi-hard
- Type
- Brined
- Rind
- No rind
- Country
- Bulgaria
Sirene is the white brined cheese of Bulgaria, sold in blocks that sit in salty liquid. The paste is white and slightly grainy, and it breaks into moist crumbs rather than bending like a soft bloomy cheese. Salt is part of the identity, because the cheese finishes in brine. In Bulgaria the name means this everyday white cheese, not one branded wheel. A block can taste fresh and tangy, or firmer and saltier, depending on its time in the brine.